C.L. Stegall's Blog: CL Stegall - Writer, page 2

You Don’t Own Me – Body Rights, Morality and Orphan Black

Orphan Black – Tatiana Maslany

I’m a fan of fiction, not just a writer thereof. When reality creeps into it, the results can amplify the fiction to unbelievable heights. In television writing, that is never as evident as it is in the series Orphan Black.

In the television series, Orphan Black, a girl by the name of Sarah Manning discovers some shocking secrets about herself and those close to her. Sarah, a grifter and thief, finds herself on a train platform when she notices another girl a short distance away, crying. The girl puts her purse down on the ground, then takes off her shoes, turns to Sarah and, lo and behold, she is Sarah’s exact twin. Then she steps in front of a train and kills herself.

Over the course of the first season, Sarah learns that she is one of several clones, the result of a decades-old experiment. The second clone she encounters mentions another before being shot and killed right in front of Sarah. Two down in the span of the first two episodes. Needless to say, Sarah quickly realizes she is so very far from safe.

The most dramatic discovery, I thought, was the fact that the clones’ DNA had been encoded, noting that they were patented and owned by the company that created them. Huh? They were not their own people.

They were property.

This brings up a humongous number of questions surrounding morality, humanity, and science.

Not surprisingly, the clones are all women (even one transgendered woman). All over the news, the world, today, women are in a battle over their own bodies. The rape culture is front and center in various discussions and events (look at the stolen girls of Nigeria and the horrendous lack of action against Boko Haram by the country’s leader (the poorly named) Goodluck Jonathan).

I’ve unfortunately known girls who have been raped. The internal devastation is miles and away far worse than any physical abuse occurring during the act.  It is an act of violence, of dominance and perpetrated by broken individuals who have no place in our society, let alone on the planet. Fuck it. That’s the way I see it.

In watching the Orphan Black series, I find myself getting absolutely furious by the way the clones are treated: as objects, as property. Never as individual human beings with lives and souls. It pisses me off to no end. I look forward to the day that those who are on the providing end of that discrimination and abuse meet their own Karmic ends. I wish and hope for it, even.

The discussion/argument over our rights as humans to “own” our own bodies is one that is not new to the world. It may never be settled completely. Some new twist in science and/or evolution may set forth a new, more heated debate. Who knows? What I do know, what I believe wholeheartedly, is that I am my own person. Anyone tries to claim my body, to take from me that which is mine, is in for a rude and harsh awakening.

When I see one of the clones (as portrayed in stellar fashion by the incredible Tatiana Maslany!) take up arms and defend themselves against their oppressors and those who would betray them to said oppressors, I seriously want to stand up and cheer.

I consider myself a man of solid morality. If my morality is different from yours, then so be it. I understand what is good, what is evil. I have more than enough experience to know if a person is beyond redemption. I understand that sometimes the harshest action is rarely enough to quell the evil—the darkness—that lurks in the hearts of humankind.

I also understand the inherent goodness in people, that indefinable sense that leads them to want to rehab the “bad” people who do bad things for various reasons.  And, indeed, some of them do bad things for the best of reasons. But, therein lies the question of morality versus survival.

When one is faced with a rapist, for example, who has taken the necessary steps to get to the point of forcing his dominance over another human being, is there any possibility of redemption for that man? I fall on the side of pessimism. Just like an abuser of any nature—even an adulterer—if they’ve done it once, they will do it again. Period.

My experiences prove me out. History and societal records prove me out.

Am I evil for my perspectives, my leanings in these matters? Sometimes I admit that I do wonder. I become lost in thought for hours, trying to determine on which side of the line I stand.

I do know that I am my own person. My body is mine. My Wife’s is hers.

And, if anyone tries to take that from us, I will do whatever it takes to ensure that it does not happen. Ever. Again.

I am curious. What’s your stance? What’s your position? Am I standing in the Dark? The Light? Or, do I reside in the Shadows where so many decisions can go either way?

My Muse Is On Vacation, or… Who Moved My Creativity?

For years, I’ve been able to sit down in front of my computer and just begin typing away. I have a dozen different prêt à porter story ideas that I can jump into at a moment’s notice. Until recently…

In the last few weeks – or is it months? – I’ve been torn between too many varied projects. I’m not one to stress too much.  I had an incident a decade ago that enlightened me to exactly what unattended stress can do to a body and mind. A little while back, I realized that I was allowing stress to affect me once again and I will not have that happen. Not now. No way.

We (Dark Red Press) have an event in July, the wonderful writers’ convention Lexicon. Our company is a sponsor of the event and I will be speaking, as well. The event is in its third (and possibly final year), as it has grown significantly under the leadership of its creator, author Mitch Haynes. I can only imagine the stress of putting on such an event can be, even with the gracious and dedicated assistance of friends and family.

After this event, I will be taking a step back from my duties as President and Senior Editor at DRP. I am lucky enough to have a great team that will be taking up any responsibilities to which may need to be attended. I’m doing to for several reasons. One is I need more writing time. (Don’t we all?!) As well, I believe all that I’ve taken up within the company has lent to a greater amount of stress than I can currently keep a handle on. Welcome to the real world, I suppose.

I need to get back in shape. I need to finish my WIPs. I need to spend more time with my lovely, irrepressible Wife. I need some “me time.”

Hence, prioritization.

We do what we must to bring balance to our lives.

Which brings me back to the real subject of this post: juggling multiple projects.

In 2011, my first novel was published. It is a Young Adult Urban Fantasy adventure along the same vein as Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. Whereas his is more middle-school level, mine is more 16+ Years. My protagonists are just graduating high school when all hell breaks loose in their lives. The Weight of Night is my pride and joy, as it is a) my first published novel and b) the characters are like family to me. With that being said, the readers really do enjoy the book and I have gotten dozens of absolutely wonderful reviews and personal notes to me about how much they loved it. The main comment is: where the heck is the next one??

Therein lies the rub.

The second novel in the Progeny series, The Light of Chaos, is about a third of the way completed. The characters are growing and getting into even more trouble than in the first book. I love, love being there with them. However…

Last year Dark Red Press published my second novel, a very adult Urban Fantasy filled with sex, violence, betrayal and mayhem called The Blood of Others. It has been very well-received, as well. (Hey, I’m on a streak!) Again, the comments in reviews also ask, where is the next one? And, I do have an answer: it’s about a third of the way complete, as well. But…

For the past fifteen years or more, I’ve had a story in my head. It is kind of/sort of/maybe a little quasi-autobiographical. It is so hard to write even fiction when it hits so very close to home. Yet, every day the damned thing picks and scrapes at me, dancing around my brain and crying to be let out. It is such a dramatic departure from all of my other work that’s been published, that I fear for the reception it may receive. It is a purely non-fantasy/non-sci-fi thriller that dredges up a helluva lot of emotion in me.

Have you ever needed to write something that is also so very difficult to write?

That’s where I am. My creativity is stalling because it is all over the place: like a bouncy ball in a washing machine!

I keep pecking away at my two main WIPs, The Light of Chaos and The Moon Also Rises – yet, the one story that is closest to me will not let me be. It’s sort of driving me nuts.

So, I need to figure out what to finish first. It’s up to me. I’m not asking for advice (although I’d sure as hell take it into account), I’m just venting and getting this down for posterity’s sake.  I suspect five years from now, I’ll look back on this post and laugh out loud at the inane babbling, the self-absorbed BS spouted herein. At least, I dearly hope that is the case.

Still, what about you?

Have you ever gotten caught between projects that were each, in their own way, pulling at you? Did it make it tough to find the right tack? What solution did you decide upon?

Interesting and Amazing Facts about Books and Authors

From the ridiculous (50 Shades of Grey is Britain’s best-selling book of all time?!) to the shocking (Nabokov’s wife prevented him from burning the unfinished drafts of Lolita!), I love reading interesting facts and trivia about writers and books.

In this list from Buzzfeed, I was sitting wide-eyed the entire time I read the list.

I loved finding out the (horrible) original title of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. And the fact that Dan Brown used to be a pop singer…WTF? This is a great listing and I found a few other juicy tidbits in addition.

Here are a few other facts I discovered:

William Shakespeare invented the word “hurry.”
Oh, and think about this one for a second: John Wayne once recited Shakespeare in a contest…and won!
Tolstoy wrote War and Peace before there were computers or copying machines. His poor (devoted!) wife had to copy his manuscript by hand seven times.
If you can imagine this: Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, was actually an eye doctor, an ophthalmologist. Since specialty medical practices were very difficult to build in his day – and didn’t pay well – he ended up having to take up writing to make ends meet.
The first published book ever written on a typewriter was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain used a Remington in 1875.
The world’s most expensive book ever purchased was bought by Bill Gates at auction for $30.8 million dollars. The title of the book is Codex Leicester by Leonard da Vinci.
Margery Williams – author of The Velveteen Rabbit – wrote a horror novel called The Thing in the Woods under the pseudonym Harper Williams. The story, about a werewolf and his more human brother, supposedly inspired H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Dunwich Horror.
Before striking it big as a children’s author, Dr. Seuss made propaganda films for the Army during WWII.
Don Quixote is the best-selling novel of all time, with over 500 million copies sold.

 

Do you love trivia? Share it in the comments!

 

Sources:
http://wattpad.tumblr.com/post/1518202924/interesting-facts-about-books

http://thefw.com/amazing-facts-about-childrens-books-authors/

Writing Process Blog Tour – How Do I Write?

 

First off, I’d like to thank High Fantasy author, Court Lynn, for asking me to participate in this author blog tour; although, it is certainly a different take on what is normally called a blog tour.

I love the idea of a round robin to see how different authors write, what their process is, etc. Just sounds fun. But, then again, I’m a writer.  We are not quite like anyone else are we? As most writers, I tend to live a great deal of my life in some fantasy world or other that I created myself. It is, to me, a perfect life!

So, without further delay… On with the show!

What am I working on?

Currently, I am in the midst of three – count ‘em, THREE! – projects.

The first is the final processes of publishing steps for the latest Dark Red press anthology: 4RCHETYPES – Modern Interpretations of Classic Horror. The four founding members of DRP like to get together and produce annual (or very near to annual) anthologies wherein we take a given subject or theme and each of us writes something tied to that. 2014 brings four modern takes on those monsters and ghosts that permeated the classic horror films of the 30’s and 40’s. I.e., Dr. Jekyll, Frankenstein, ghosts and vampires. Fun! Look for it on April 30th!

The second project in which I am knee-deep is the second novel in the Progeny series of Young Adult adventures. The first novel, The Weight of Night, was released in early 2011 and readers have been all over me about follow-ups. Well, later this summer, you’ll get to drop back in on Alexis and Keats, the demigods, and see how they are faring in their search for the Red Tome with their new friend, Lily. Lots more mythology in this one – you’ll meet new gods, demigods and beings out of Greek mythology, as well as getting a taste of some familiar ones (Greer is back in action!).

The last project for this year will be the second novel in the Valence of Infinity series of tales. The Moon Also Rises is the story of modern day vampire, Brianna Van Demir and her friend Daphne. The story takes place along the same timeline as The Blood of Others and will end at the same place (and with the same folks) as did the previous novel. There is a third novel in that series which is in the works for 2016.

 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Wow. I guess a lot of writers will have a lot of wildly varying answers for this question. I suppose my answer would be that my writing evolves from the voices of the characters. This may also affect the manner in which the story unfolds. I like to think of each piece of work as a momentary lapse of reality. The reader gets to sink into the worlds of the characters, to see what they see, feel what they feel. Experience everything. After all, a book is a journey, not a destination.

 

Why do I write what I write?

I heard a comedian – I want to say it was Bobby Slayton – back in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, state that his wife once asked him why he was watching the movie The People Under the Stairs. This, because she wanted to watch a film about love, family and relationships.

Now, if you don’t know what that film is all about, it is basically about people who live within the walls of a family’s home and eat other people.  Uh-huh.

Bobby’s response is the same one I would have had and the exact same one I can use to explain why I write what I write. He said, “We’ve got love, we have a family. We have a relationship. What we don’t have are people in the walls eating other people!”

So, to put it another (less gross) way: I write about the things that I would love to experience, that fall outside the normal everyday life that we each lead. I want what we don’t/can’t have: crazy adventures, magical abilities, terrible creatures and wondrous worlds.  (Come to think of it, we may actually have all of those things in this insane world of ours…but, you take my point.)

To me, writing is escapism at its most base. From that moment of creation evolves a new and wondrous adventure, a fabulous world of strangers and new friends, of beasts and horrors and moments of glory and honor. It is what I live for, as a writer.

How does my writing process work?

Heck, I don’t know if it does! I seem to take myriad of paths to complete a novel. I do tend to combine a lot of methods to get to where I want to go. In most cases, however, I will begin with the idea. What is it I want to say? Who is my main character(s)? Who’s the bad guy? The why’s and wherefores are extremely important to any story. Once I get those things percolating around in my brain, I take the time to lay out a really loose outline/timeline of the tale at hand.

From here, I will begin building the story. I will take each outline bullet point and determine if it works, if it needs to be expanded, etc. and begin firming up the foundation of the book.

Then, I get down to business with the rough draft. I will do the necessary research as I go along, since I never know what the heck my characters may wind up getting themselves into. There have been multiple occasions where they took me a vastly different direction than where I intended them to go. Blast those pesky characters!

Once the rough draft is complete, I begin – chapter by chapter – the flesh it all out and create the first real draft of the story, as it will stand. That is what gets sent off to my proofers/beta readers. They are the ones who get to see the story in its formative stages. After I take all of their feedback into account, I then send it off to my editor(s). Honestly, there is usually more than one editor who touches the finished draft.

Last step is to review all of the edits, do a final read-through and prep it for the publishing. (This last step is really a series of steps, but that is a tale for another day!)

* * * * *

I’m sure that is more information than you expected and, yet, not nearly enough!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little glimpse into my writing world.

Next week, on March 31st, you’ll have the pleasure of reading all about the writing processes of these fine authors, who keep me inspired and on my toes every day!

Jonathan Black – author of the paranormal crime thriller, Jester, and several other wondrous novels (as well as being a founding member of Dark Red Press!).

JoAnna Grace – JoAnna is the author of Divine Destiny and Pride Before the Fall, she has been published by both PRP Press and Dark Red Press!

Who’s Your Favorite Robot?

So, I came across this image and shared on my Pinterest page, but I thought I’d post it here.  Just out of curiosity, can you name ALL of the robots shown?  I am missing a few.  :o)

Famous Robots Pictogram – via TheMetaPicture.com

 

What Exactly is Giving 100 Percent?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100% ? Athletes who claim they’re giving 110%, for example.

What does 100% mean? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Let’s use a mathematical formula to help us get at the answers to those pesky questions.

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But ,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T

2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

And, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G

1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So apparently, based on this mathematical certainty, we can see that while Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that’ll put you over the top!

 

 

Hey, man. Can ya spare some zen?

 

Can Only Two Words Break Your Heart?

I recently shared a video on my FB page and, for the life of me, I cannot get it out of my head.

First off, here is the video to which I refer:

Back story is simple: the kids on the show that day were all having problems, lashing out, getting into trouble, etc. This ten-year old pretty much halted the show when his brutal and heartfelt honesty rocked the hardcore Drill Sergeant so much that he stopped the whole thing right there and guided the boy backstage.

When the boy answers, “Yes, sir.” … well, it damned near broke my heart.

I felt that answer more than you can imagine. You see, my father walked out on our family of five on March 23, 1974. Two days before my 8th birthday. Life would never be the same again.

I rarely saw my father after that. Even decades later when I tried to connect with him it never really took.  The past stood in the way of any future.  It was a terrible and unfortunate fate for any young boy to have to face.

Now, I am going to share some things, some thoughts and feelings here, if only to get them out in the open and breed discussion. It is perfectly fine if you disagree with any of what I have to say. I only speak from my own experience.

Boys need discipline.

They deserve it.

It is in our makeup to function better under boundaries.

Let that sink in a bit.

Don’t get me wrong. We all need love and care and understanding. Those are essential elements in the development of any positive, well-balanced human being. Yet, there is no denying that boys and girls are very different in a myriad of ways. One of those ways is structure.

I spent my youth with my grandfather as my main father-figure.  He was an abusive alcoholic. I dealt with it. I learned fast and hard how to properly react, respond to and follow his orders. And, believe you me, they were orders. Not suggestions.

I had my ass whipped on many an occasion as I was growing up. I deserved it each and every time. Did it make me a horrible person? Did it ruin my ability to love and be loved? Did it trash my self-esteem and make me a whiny little beaten down reject? A loser?

Absolutely not.

There were boundaries set and I learned quickly not to step out-of-bounds, else I dealt with the consequences thereof. Now, did this make me hate my grandfather? Again, no. I mostly lived under his roof; therefore, I abided by his rules. Simple enough. What was the worst thing about all of those experiences? Probably the pain of having to experience them. What was the best thing about all of those experiences? The structure and discipline it bred in me, as a person. As a man.

Boys are different little animals (and I use that term only slightly lightly).

Boys crave attention. More so, I think, than girls. I honestly do not know why. We just do. We want to be seen. We want to experiment with our environment and be commended for having defeated whatever obstacle was in our way…no matter how small. We look up to the person who has defeated all of those obstacles (in our eyes) before us and lived to tell the tale: our fathers.

It took me a long time, many years, to get past the turmoil that developed in my soul. It was turmoil and it was that deep. I did not understand it. Thankfully, it was somewhat muted by my time with my grandfather; although that leads to a wholly different set of tales and difficulties. Still, I struggled. At first I became the class clown in school (at age 8-10); then, I began to withdraw, to lose myself in the storms rolling within me. I got by in school, but I had no friends. Until I hit my teens. Even then, I found myself at the edge of caring what happened to me and I did a lot of stupid stuff (see my previous post as an example).

At 16 years old, I discovered I was bored out of mind in school. I had no drive. I was (unfortunately) wise enough to see that all around me was piles of evidence that I was going nowhere. We were dirt poor, so college was out of the question. With my apathy, my grades were far from able to score any type of scholarship.  Not that that word was ever mentioned in my household.  Education was not at the forefront of anyone’s mind who is just trying to survive. I was looking at a lifetime of farming, grocery store clerking or jail.

My uncle finally stepped in and suggested the military. I never looked back.

I’ve spent my life trying to be a better person, to understand people, in general and to be a good human being.

My Wife and I have never had children (our dogs are our fur-babies), and there have been more times than I can remember that I wondered if that wasn’t by the grace of all that is holy. Would I be a good father? My family history would certainly suggest otherwise. But, I am not my history. I am what I make of my present and a sum of all my hopes for the future.

All of those boys out there, the ones without fathers…they are always on my mind. I should do more. I should reach out and attempt to be a Big Brother. I suppose, if I’m to be honest, my own fears have prevented me from that. I wish it were otherwise.

So, watching this 39 second clip of (me) this little boy answering his heart’s desire in the face of a huge drill sergeant loudly addressing him, seeing his lack of intimidation in the face of his deepest need and want…

My heart is, indeed, broken.

On the other hand, I would wager BIG money that the drill sergeant made a valiant effort to help that little man out. Advice, comfort, words of support. I know this because I was that little boy (at age eighteen), staring in the face of the drill sergeant as he yelled at me for not doing what I was supposed to do, or not doing it right for the eighth time. I look back on those days and I praise those guys and gals who help mold our soldiers. Because, God knows, they are more times than not molding not just a soldier, but an incomplete human being. I never once hated my drill sergeants. I never once spoke back to them, or cursed them.

I respected them.

In the end, perhaps that is the one thing that is missing most in our society of young males these days: a true, deep-down understanding of simple respect.

Structure and boundaries.

A gentle yet unwavering hand to guide.

A source of knowledge.

A point of respect.

A dad.

Catch Your Dreams, Dude!

Catch Your Dreams – Gary Busey

21 Kids – Can they Nail Ozzy’s No More Tears?

All of these kids are just amazing talents.  21 kids, ranging from ages 5-16 years old.  Each holds his/her own, even the little drummer who twice drops a drumstick and still keeps great time and stays on track.  I can’t help but smile all the way through this!